They had thought he was getting better.

He had been able to leave his bed and had wanted to train with the others, although they had all protested to that due to his still weakened state. So, he watched; studied their every move so when he was strong again, he could keep up.

Some called it a surge, when a person regains their strength before getting way worse, if they died afterwards, it was terminal lucidity. His father would've most likely preferred the term "the calm before the storm". That brief period where things were good before they crashed down like a house of cards in a gust of wind.

If they had asked Lloyd, he would swear up and down that he really thought he was getting better. If they had asked Kai, however, who had staked out his room every day since it had happened, he would just sigh before explaining that he pretended that it wasn't happening.

But no one asked; they carried on their training together, trying to move on together, and any outsider would have said that they looked like they had put back together the pieces.

Cole had taken a break; he had been training since the sun peeked over the mountains in the bounty while waiting for the others to wake up, and he couldn't help but be exhausted. So, he made his way below deck to the kitchen before letting his back rest against the wall.

But as he swallowed, he heard a loud 'thump' that couldn't have just been something falling over due to turbulence; the sound chilled him to his bone and he felt his stomach drop because the last time he had heard that similar thump was when his mother…

He made his way into the hall, pushing away the thoughts of dread; but before he could call out a "hello?" and clear up a misunderstanding, he fell to his knees beside the person on the ground, his green gi hanging off of his body.

"Lloyd," Cole's voice came out shaky as he pressed his palm to the boy's neck, feeling a weak flutter of a pulse under it, "Lloyd, stay with me," he begged, pulling him into his arms before standing up and sprinted above deck while calling out, "I need help!"

…

Lloyd's lungs burned as he coughed himself awake. His eyes stung, his lungs burned and his body ached. It was times like these he had almost wished Morro had taken him with him.

"Hey." An obviously tired voice interrupted his slow, painful awakening and he blinked a couple times before realizing that it was Cole with the all too familiar green glow around his body. Lloyd kicked himself mentally for taking a moment to shut his eyes and repeating the mantra he had created after being rescued.

"You're safe. You're okay. It's not Morro."

"How are you feeling?" Cole's voice sounded exhausted, like he didn't have the strength to speak but needed to anyway.

"Sore."

"Yeah, that's not surprising," Cole murmured as he approached him slowly, but Lloyd's panic in his chest wasn't from the ghostly glow as he was approached; rather, it was knowing fully well that he was keeping a secret from all of them. He had noticed it after he had showered that first night after being back, and as far as he knew, it wasn't noticeable unless someone got too close.

"Don't ruffle my hair."

But luck was the exact opposite of what Lloyd had and Cole's cold, ghostly hand softly touched his scalp which was all it took for the emotions to be too much and tears to take over in violent, shaking sobs with murmurs of "I'm sorry" over and over and over again spilling from Lloyd's mouth.

"Oh, Lloyd," Cole's voice was the softest it had ever been as his strong arms held him just tightly enough to be comforting but loose enough that it didn't make every part of his body shake in agony, "how long have you-"

"I don't want it to be real," The ramble past the tears was shocking, even to him, but once it started, he coul dn't stop, "I don't wanna be in pain, I don't want to lose my hair… I don't wanna be here without my dad."

After that, the tears came so heavy down his cheeks that he couldn't form words or even think properly, his head buried against Cole's chest.

Cole just held him tighter against him and slowly rocked him in his arms, thankful for the deepstone enforced gi he was wearing.